Sunday, October 25, 2009

5 People That Sold Their Souls To The Devil

Niccolo Paganini

Niccolo Paganini was a musician in the late 1700s. He was handed the mandolin at an early age and at the tender age of seven, he was learning the violin. By the age of eleven, he was performing solos and by the age of thirteen, he was known as a violin virtuoso. At the age of nineteen, he was beginning to compose his own music and learning how to play the guitar. At the age of 23, he composed the hardest work for a violinist to play and at the age of 27, he was touring and mesmerizing audiences. He had lost is bottom teeth, looked pale and began dressing in black. It was rumored that he had sold his soul to the devil. Although he didn’t start the rumor, he did nothing to thwart the rumor and in fact encouraged people to believe it. When he was asked about it, he asked them how else would it be possible for him to play the way he does?

Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson was a blues musician that had a short lived life. He passed away at the age of 27 and not much is really known about his life. His music influenced some of the musicians of the 50s and 60s. He was one of the first musicians inducted into the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame. He was living on the plantation when his desire to become a great blues musician came about. Someone told him to take his guitar to the Crossroads at midnight near Dockery Plantation. When he arrived, the devil was waiting and took his guitar from him. The devil tuned the guitar and played a few songs on it. Once he handed it back to Robert, the pact was made and he was able to sing, play and create the blues.

Johann Georg Faust

Johann Georg Faust was a German alchemist. In 1507, it was said that he was a con man and a drifter that would prey on the gullible. He was said to have molested several boys in Kreuznach. In 1509, he obtained a degree in divinity. At the University of Krakow, he studied magic and befriended Martin Luther and Philip Melachton. These two men were said to have witnessed Johann’s pact with the devil. He worked at the University of Ehrfut, where it was said that he was lecturing on Homer and conjured up his heroes for the students. He was soon asked to resign and offered repentance. It was then that he admitted to having the pact with the devil. He told Dr. Klinge, a Franciscan monk, that he trusted the devil more than he did God.

Urbain Grandier

Urbain Grandier was a French Catholic priest. He was burned at the stake for committing the crime of witchcraft. He was known for breaking his vow of celibacy and becoming a philanderer. In 1603, a few nuns accused him of bewitching them and sending a demon to commit unspeakable acts with them. According to the legend, his pact stated his allegiance to the devil and is renunciation of the Christian faith. In turn, it was promise to Grandier that he would have the love of women, wealth, and worldly honor. This pact was written backwards and in Latin and it is still available to be seen at Bibliotheque Nationale in France.

Jonathan Moulton

Jonathan Moulton was a cabinet maker that became a captain in the New Hampshire Militia in 1745. He played an important role in the claiming of the land from the Ossipee Native Americans. When the war ended in 1749, he got married to Abigail Smith and they had eleven children. He opened a store that imported goods from Europe and East India. As legend has it, the young couple struggled for quite sometime and Jonathan told his wife that he would sell his soul to the devil in order for them to have the wealth that he wanted. The neighbors reported seeing a stranger pay a visit to the couple at the first of every month. The couple was suddenly rich and the rumor was that the devil would fill Jonathan’s boots with gold coins each month. He was never satisfied with what he had, so he tried to trick the devil. He bought bigger boots and still wasn’t satisfied with how much money he was acquiring. So, then he drilled a hole in the floor to have an endless supply of money. Supposedly, the devil caught on after the second month and burned the house down. Jonathan rebuilt a house on the same spot and it is still standing today.

There have been rumors of possible instances that someone has sold their soul to the devil. Musicians and writers, alike, are often accused of making a pact with the devil in order to become successful. There are some well known instances out there that indicate that someone has made a pact with the devil.